§ 53. Mr. Geoffrey Cooperasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what record he has of the total number of man-hours expended on committee work by officials of Government Departments, shown separately by Departments; if he will give this information, stating the year in which 1790 the record was made; and if he will have a check made for some convenient month during the present year.
§ Sir S. CrippsNo record such as my hon. Friend suggests is kept. And since I do not believe it would serve the purpose he has in mind, I should be unwilling to spend the man-hours required to compile it.
§ Mr. CooperDoes the Chancellor of the Exchequer recall that there was in fact a. check of this sort made during the war, when the manpower shortage was acute, and that it disclosed the fact that more than 2,000 man-years were spent at that time by senior officials in committees? If the check was worth while then, may it not be worth while making now, when the manpower shortage is equally acute?
§ Sir S. CrippsI do not think it would be worth while, as a great deal of most useful work is done in meetings between officials in committee.